My Dear Alina,
I was so devastated to learn the news of the loss of your beautiful, intelligent, thoughtful, inspirational mother.
I am so sorry that this wretched disease got the better of her. She wrote such a nice note just a few weeks ago when my own parents were sick with it. She was such a good soul in so many ways.
My wife Heather, who never got to meet her, was asking me about her when I told her the news and so I was able to reminisce about the many times I went to Lithuania in the 90’s and the time we had together. The fun we had with Marina and Egle. The time we went night clubbing in Druskininkai. They were truly precious moments.
Irena was a mentor to me, setting high standards in rigorous intellectual thought and practice. Her intellect scared me a little. And yet she was always a friend, an encourager, delighting in small steps of progress, an optimist beyond everything.
It seems a generation of great Lithuanian minds and hearts has now left us – Mara, Val, Irena. A generation that can never be replaced. And will be missed.
I can hear Irena’s voice in my head even now, her thoughtful smile, her dogged determination to do things her way, her radiance.
May her memory always be a blessing.
I will treasure her in my heart. Always.
Stephen